Hadassah at the Polish border
Reporting from the Polish border with Ukraine this week, Hadassah’s Dr Shaul Beyth, one of Israel’s most experienced orthopaedic surgeons, observed the Ukrainian refugees fleeing the conflict.
He commented: “We see the despair on the refugees’ faces when they arrive at our clinic, but when they hear the name Hadassah they breathe easier. They know that (despite the dark circumstances) there is someone they can trust and rely on.”
Hadassah Hospital is no stranger to war. Located on the fault line between Israel and the West Bank, it deals daily with the consequences of inter-communal violence. In good times, like now, it is one of Israel’s best tertiary hospitals. In times of conflict, it has no peer.
It is no surprise that Hadassah medical staff are ‘front and centre’ in providing care to Ukrainians caught up in the Russian onslaught.
Jorg Diener, Executive Director of Hadassah International, speaking from Hadassah’s makeshift medical clinic on the Polish-Ukrainian border, said that Hadassah has been playing a leading role in the international response to tsunamis, earthquakes and conflict.
He said: “In the freezing cold of this late European winter, the Hadassah Medical Organization has set up a medical clinic where we are treating desperately needy Ukrainian refugees,” he said. “It is hard and demanding work, but I am so proud and privileged to be part of this humanitarian effort. The professional team from HMO are incredible and the work is 24/7.”
Hadassah has joined with the Government of Israel in sending an emergency medical humanitarian delegation to the Ukrainian-Polish border. It will have four key objectives:
The first will be to treat patients in the refugee centre which has been established by the Polish Government in consultation with Ukrainian authorities, aid agencies and other NGOs;
The second will be to provide necessary medication to support the wider healthcare initiative in coordination with the Ukrainian Ministry of Health;
The third will be to train local staff about mass casualty and serious trauma incidents; and
The fourth will be to assess trauma and emergency equipment in local hospitals.
Ron Finkel, President of Hadassah Australia, says the Hadassah leadership in Israel has agreed to airlift people wounded by war and cancer patients to its hospitals in Jerusalem.
“This is what we do,” Mr Finkel says. “Since our foundation more than a century ago, we have not only provided exceptional care at our facilities but reached out across the world to people struggling with trauma.
“This is in our DNA,” he said in reference to the founder of Hadassah, Henrietta Szold.
LINK FOR DONATIONS: www.hadassahaustralia.org
